Metallic crate.



.l'. R. FREEZE.

METALLIC CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-7, 1914.

Patented July 13, 1915.

E Witnesses:

rrn sans Par I w JONATHAN ROY FREEZE, OF MIDDLETOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TOTHE AMERICAN ROLL- ING MILL COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

METALLIC CRATE.

Specification of Letterslatent.

Application filed August 7, 1914. Serial No. 855,587.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN ROY FREEZE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, have invented certain newanduseful Improvements in Metallic Crates, of which the following is aspecification.

In the shipping of packs of material in sheet form, packs of sheet ironfor instance, the edges and corners of the sheets composing the pack areliable to injury by careless handling unless the pack is care fullycrated, which crating is of high importance where the sheets are nicelytrimmed or are of comparatively high value. The crating of packs ofmaterial is especially necessary where shipment is by water, and ithappens that the usual crating, being of comparatively thick wood addsvery considerably to the bulk of the package, and increases the cost ofthe transportation charges accordingly.

My present nnprovement in metallic crates secures a maximum ofprotection for the pack, along with a minimum addition to the bulk ofthe package.

My improved metallic crate will be readily understood from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pack of sheets crated according tomy improvement: Fig. 2 a perspective view of a portion of one of theside rails 01" the crate, a section appearing in the plane of line a ofFig. 1: Fig. 3 a similar view with a section appearing in the plane ofline i) of Fig. 1: and Fig. a a perspective view of one end of one ofthe end-pieces of the crate.

In the drawing :1, indicates a pack of sheets, sheet iron for instance;2, a side rail formed of sheet metal bent transversely into channelform. the dimensions of this channel being such that the rail will fitupon the edge of the pack with such closeness as is consistent withreasonable rapidity in assembling the crate upon the pack, there beingone of these rails at each side edge of the pack, and the length of therails being somewhat in excess of the length of the pack; 3, alongitudinal series of housings outwardly embossed from the flanges ofthe rails, there being as many of these housings as judgment dictates, ahousing being disposed very near each end of the rail, the intermediatehousings being, preferably, equally spaced apart, the housings formingrecesses at the inner surfaces of the flanges of the rails; 4, mortisesat the outer extremities of the housings; 5, crosspieces lying acrossthe faces of the pack and extending from rail to rail and projectinginto the recesses of the housings; 6, tongues formed on the ends of thecrosspieces and projecting outwardly through the mortises in thehousings and adapted to be bent inwardly and down over the tops of thehousings; 7, channel-shaped end-pieces, similar in cross-section to therails and engaging the ends of the pack, the ends of the flanges ofthese end-pieces projecting into the end housings of the rails, whilethe ends of the webs of the end-pieces project into the rails and abutagainst the webs of the rails; and 8, tongues on the ends of the flangesof the end-pieces and adapted to engage the end housings of the railssimilar to the engagement of the ends of the cross-pieces 5 with thehousings.

The rails, end-pieces and cross-pieces having been assembled upon thepack, the tongues 6 are bent out and back and down upon the tops of thehousings, thus forming a substantial protecting crate for the pack ofsheets, and a crate which adds very little to the weight and bulk of thepackage. The crate is opened by straightening out the tongue.

The crate may have its components assembled directly upon the pack, or,if desired, the crate may have its components almost completelyassembled and the tongues bent before the contents are placed within it,one of the rails being omitted from the assemblage until the pack hasbeen placed within the crate, after which the final rail may be appliedand secured by the bending of the appropriate tongues.

I claim 1. A metallic crate comprising, metallic side rails in channelform adapted to engage the edges and top and bottom of the pile ofsheets to be crated, outwardly embossed housings at each end of theflanges of said rails, mortises in the outer walls of each of thehousings, metallic end pieces in channel form extending from between theends of theflanges of one side rail tobetweenthe ends of the flanges ofthe opposite side rail, and tongues formed upon the ends of the flangesof the end pieces and adapted to engage said mortises and be bentinwardly over the tops of said housings, combined substantially as setforth.

2. A metallic crate comprising, metallic side rails in channel formadapted to engage the edges and top and bottom of the pile of sheets tobe crated, outwardly embossed housings at each end of the flanges ofsaid rails, mortises in the outer Walls of each of the housings,metallic end pieces in channel form extending from between the ends ofthe flanges of one side rail to between the ends of the flanges of theopposite side rail, tongues formed upon the ends of the flanges of theend pieces and adapted to engage said mortises and be bent inwardly overthe top of said housings, housingswith mortises in the top and bottomflanges of the side rails at points between said end pieces, andcrosspieces having their ends engaging within said last-mentionedhousings and having tongues engaging their mortises and adapted to bebent over the tops of said housings, combined substantially as setforth.

JONATHAN ROY FREEZE.

Witnesses:

M. S. BELDEN, GEO. JOHNSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. G.

